… and not the normal five things you see around here.

I rarely get personal on this little blogaroo. It makes me anxious to share more than what I did this weekend. But first Anna did and then Melanie did and that sweet girl tagged me so now I’m feeling inspired to. Here are five things you may not know about me. Unless you’ve been reading this thang for quite a while. Then maybe you’ve picked up on some of it 🙂

[ 1 ] I claim to live this nautical New England lifestyle, which is true now, but wasn’t always. At least not out of the summertime. I was born in Michigan. I moved to Pennsylvania when I was 8. I came to Boston for college. I stayed, and two years ago my family joined me. I hate the question “where are you from?” because I never know how to reply without some longwinded answer. But New England is the place I associate most with home. We’ve been coming to the south shore of Massachusetts and staying on the same street my whole life, and it’s been the only consistent home I know. I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon, and I recently realized I don’t think I’d be capable of living too far from the water ever again.

[ 2 ] I work in cookbooks! And yet I can’t cook to save my life. I like dabbling in baking though– see here, here, and here for evidence.

[ 3 ] I had eight best girlfriends in college. Green Street Girls we were known as, after our Cambridge apartment.. Now they are splattered all across the country and nothing breaks my heart more. Sorry to go all SisterhoodOfTheTravelingPants on you, but I feel so much more at peace and complete when we are together. It hasn’t happened since our graduation, but I have faith that it will soon.

[ 4 ] I consider blogging a wonderful creative outlet, but one that’s a bit more important to me is dance. I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding why it’s such a huge part of my life and why I still put so much time into it at my age– if you’re curious, just watch this video. And listen. I like to think you and a many others will better understand then 🙂

[ 5 ] I have epilepsy. Now that’s something I definitely haven’t told you before! But I think it’s time I do, because I realized a while ago that I should be using this public forum of mine for more than just outfit posts and accessory talk. One small thing I can do for the big issue (affecting 65 million people worldwide) is raise awareness. One of the greatest things you can do for me? Take a minute and a half and read this Seizure First Aid guide. Should you ever be with a person while they’re having a seizure, knowing how to react is the most important thing.

Whew that was not supposed to be a downer of a post– I promise I won’t do that again anytime soon! Now it’s time to hear from you! I’m supposed to pass this along, but I tag whoever is willing to share 🙂